This article is adapted from Davidson Institute’s “Homeschooling – Considering Homeschooling: A Guidebook for Investigating an Alternative Path to Education”, part of our collection of free guidebooks for gifted and 2e families. For a deeper dive into supporting your twice-exceptional child, we encourage you to explore the full guide.
For families seeking additional support, Davidson Academy Online offers a structured yet flexible online learning environment tailored to profoundly gifted students. It complements the homeschooling experience with advanced academics and a community of like-minded peers, making it a valuable ally for parents navigating this journey.
Knowing the Law
Before deciding to homeschool, research the homeschool laws in your state. While homeschooling often allows a parent the freedom to educate one’s child however they choose, some states have specific laws outlining homeschooling regulations and guidelines.
The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is an excellent resource. The preschool through middle school section of the HSLDA website provides access to state homeschool laws and regulations, articles on learning styles, organization, and curriculum. The HSLDA also provides a listing of home education state statutes.
Please know that when researching non-traditional education avenues, many in combination with homeschooling, such as early college at age 13 or dual enrollment options, state laws may exist that address your situation.
Local Homeschooling Organizations
To find homeschooling groups in your area, visit the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) state database, click on your state, and then on the “Organizations” link at the top of the page. There are religious homeschool groups, nonreligious homeschool groups, homeschool co-ops, and much more. These groups give homeschooling families opportunities to socialize with other parents and students in their vicinity.
Homeschooling and Learning Disabilities
While homeschooling can be a challenging task all on its own, it can be more difficult if your child has a learning disability, behavioral issues or needs specific accommodations in order to help them learn. The following resources are for parents who are considering homeschooling a child with a learning disability:
- Tips for Parents: Homeschooling Twice-Exceptional Children
- Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children: Understanding, Teaching, and Counseling Gifted Students
- Teaching Strategies for Twice-Exceptional Students
- 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter
- LD Online
- Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page – Home Schooling Gifted Children
How To Choose a Curriculum
Many homeschooling curriculum options exist today. Parents can choose from packaged curricula such as K12, online schools (does your state have a Virtual Academy?), online courses such as Center for Talent Development (CTD) at Northwestern or John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY). Based on your budget, you can mix and match textbooks and courses from a variety of providers to help meet your student’s academic needs and educational interests in, i.e. Stanford Online High School for literature; Art of Problem Solving for math; and, Rosetta Stone for foreign language.
Also, through the Davidson Explore program, the Davidson Institute offers accredited middle school courses and, starting with eighth grade Davidson Academy Online offers an online high school for profoundly gifted students living in the United States. Some other online options include Coursera, edX, MIT OpenCourseWare and Open Yale Courses, just to name a few. BYU Independent Study Online Courses offers middle and high school, university and continuing ed courses.
To determine your child’s academic level in various subjects, reference your state’s academic benchmarks. These benchmarks can be found on state Department of Education websites. You can also have your child participate in a Talent Search and register them for an SAT, ACT or other achievement tests through a private tester. Assessments are available online such as Alpha Omega Publications Free Placement Tests or Internet4Classrooms – Printable Assessments for K-8. Parents may also want to consider pre-testing as way to know what level their child is working on.
With so many options available and the speed at which gifted students advance through material, parents may often question whether they are meeting their child’s academic needs. One program may work for your child for a while, and next thing you realize he has outgrown it. Just remember this process may take time, and there may be some trial and error. Start by reviewing the homeschool policies for your state and department of education benchmarks. Hopefully with this information, you can begin to determine your child’s academic level and choose a curriculum.
Best Evidence Encyclopedia (BEE) is a free database created by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE) that is full of curriculum choices for math and language arts that have been researched and tested.
Some other general places to view curriculum include the following:
- Homeschool Buyers Co-Op
- The Critical Thinking Co.
- Rainbow Resource Center
- Open Courseware Consortium
- Well-Trained Mind
- Homeschool Classifieds
- Ask other homeschooling parents on the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum
Below are lists of curriculum resources by subject. Please keep in mind that there is no one curriculum that works for every family. Since every curriculum will work differently for every family and their child’s needs, we are not endorsing any of the resources, rather passing along information that other families in the Young Scholar program have used and enjoyed.
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